“All that’s glitter is not gold”
The world of films has always been a fascination for everyone around. The beautiful costumes, the makeup and, just the idea of being the most beautiful women in the world. It was something that all our hearts must have wanted at some point of time. But as appealing as it may seem from the outside, the truth of its fate is far more different than it may seem.
The Indian film industry has always been a male dominated arena since its origin. The concept of superstars has been largely associated with men. The first ever Indian superstar was also a man, Rajesh Khanna, a man known for his charisma and for being the perfect actor. But how frequently have we given the same title to an actress, irrespective of her being better than her co-actor. The female actor in a typical Hindi film is only for the purpose of show, she is rather overly emotional and forgiving to the bones. This idea of over glorification of women to be expected as a permanent nurturing figure is the problem itself, but the larger problem which has come to light right now is working conditions of these women.
The issues regarding the work environment of women in the Indian film industry is not something that hasn’t been talked about before. Problems such as the casting couch, harassment and sexual assault have been issues that have prevailing in the industry. However, during the last few decades they have been well hidden and masked, just perfectly. They might have taken Euphoria’s Maddy a bit too seriously. “Out of mind, out of sight”
But it seems that this well-kept veil of everything going perfect, has been lifted off in case of the Malayalam film industry, due to the recent reports submitted by the Hema Committee. The committee was first established in November 2017 by the Kerala State Government in response to the growing complaints from the women working in the Malayalam film industry. The committee worked for two years and finally submitted its reports in 2019; however, this report was withheld by the government from going public due to the inner power struggle between the kerala government and various powerful members of the Malayalam film industry . The report was eventually made public on 19th August 2024, approximately five years later.
The reports from the committee are as horrifying as they are concerning, and the findings have sparked what may be a new wave of the #MeToo movement in the Malayalam film industry. Many prominent actresses and women are now coming forward to talk more about the disturbing working condition of women in the industry. These reports have once again made us ask questions, which have been going around for quite some time now, will the position of women in the film industry ever be changed? From being a show figure who is just there for item numbers and romantic scenes, to a person who is praised for her acting skills and performance.
The MeToo movement is not something that has been unheard of in the Indian film industry, previously to, numerous accusations had been made against prominent figures of the industry, what had been the issue earlier, was the lack of evidence against these perpetrators. The Hema Committee in this case, however, does provide the needed evidence, which could be used for convicting these people. But the reality of this scenario is far from this. Crime against women is not something which is uncommon in India, in a country where rape is as generalized as ours, I fear that this too will eventually pass, and the only people who will continue to be burned for this will be the victims.
We as a country have become quite ignorant when it comes to crime against women. The only way for it to gain recognition is if it surpasses its predecessor in terms of intensity and shock value, becoming even more graphic and gruesome. If the act of crime is more brutal and alarming, then only we may even take a glance at it. This appalling situation must make us take a moment to introspect about what is happening around us. What kind of humans have we become, and what kind of future country are we creating for the young girls of today? The idea of making a safe working environment for women or even just a safe environment, seems like a dream too good to be true. Has society really reached a point where women must think twice before taking a single step toward their dreams? Are their aspirations still as unattainable today as they were 76 years ago?
It is just not about the safety of young women anymore; it is about changing our perspective towards the increasing number of crimes against women. Things like casting couches and forcing women to for sexual favours in return of jobs is not something which should still prevail. Just making a bunch of laws and not implementing them correctly will also not work, what will work is changing the outlook of people against these crimes, what will work is making sure these incidents are not as normalised as they are, and we don’t just move on in our lives without making sure the justice has been served. The journey on this road is hard, but not impossible. The only way to keep going is to just have this immense courage to fight and continue to work for the cause.
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